DEQ Wants Public Comments On Proposed DuPont Expansion

Managers at the DuPont Plant in DeLisle are seeking state permits to upgrade and increase production.

The public has another month to comment on DuPont's plans to the Department of Environmental Quality.

Thursday night, DEQ representatives held a public hearing to find out what area residents think about increasing production at DuPont.

Company officials say part of the improvements will reduce dioxin emissions by 90 percent. Still, residents who blame DuPont for their health problems oppose the idea.

"I can't, for the life of me, understand why we allow a group of people to poison others because they have a permit in their hands. I don't think any level of dioxin is a good thing," Paul Stewart with the Sierra Club said.

"My father-in-law passed away with leukemia seven years ago. How many people can say in their family circle that they know three people with leukemia and a total of four family members with cancer? What are the odds? Even more so, they all live in a small community," DeLisle resident Devin Antunica said.

The DEQ is taking written comments on DuPont's expansion plan until September 23rd. Click here to email your comments, or you may also send a letter to the address below: